Monthly Archives: December 2011

Saturday video break: New Year’s Eve

Diana Krall has a question for you: Whatever you’re doing this evening, I wish you all the best for the new year. I’ll return to the Popdose Top 100 Covers video feature next Saturday.

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A little schadenfreude to end the year

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our only Governor. Gov. Rick Perry was once again stumped on the stump Thursday, this time with a question about a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that threw out Texas’ anti-sodomy law. Perry, taking … Continue reading

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Eversole and Surface whine for leniency

Stop, you’re breaking my heart. Even after former Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole and real estate developer Michael Surface agreed to plea deals, their lawyers said prosecutors were trying to “criminalize” a 30-year friendship. In letters filed Wednesday to the … Continue reading

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From the “More things you need to be slightly paranoid about” department

Nothing like a new domain suffix to remind you of the potential for creative malfeasance. The University of Kansas is buying up website names such as www.KUgirls.xxx and www.KUnurses.xxx. But not because it’s planning a Hot Babes of Kansas site … Continue reading

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Friday random ten: Out with the old

Only one more day left in the old year, so here are ten old songs: 1. The Old Black Rum – Great Big Sea 2. Old Blevins – Austin Lounge Lizards 3. Old Dan Tucker – Bruce Springsteen 4. The … Continue reading

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Constable Abercia to step down

I wish him well. Longtime Harris County Constable Jack Abercia, citing health concerns, said Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year. Abercia, 78, has served as Precinct 1 Constable since 1991, when he was appointed to fill the unexpired … Continue reading

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How small does good news have to be before it’s not considered good news any more?

Whatever that threshold is, this has got to be pretty close to it. Christmas came a little early for a small slice of Texas this year. We can now say that part of Texas is no longer in drought. A … Continue reading

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DOJ files amicus brief in favor of interim maps

Michael Li: The Justice Department is not a party to the San Antonio case and, until now, it hasn’t been involved in the interim map appeal before the Supreme Court. However, given the possible impact that a Supreme Court ruling … Continue reading

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It’s (almost) 2012, and Bigfoot still does not exist

Which will not stop stories about Bigfoot and the fools who keep looking for him from being written. The Finding Bigfoot crew has not visited Texas yet, but something is out there deep in the Big Thicket, say members of … Continue reading

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County sues over dioxin

More like this, please. Harris County has filed a lawsuit in state court to recover hundreds of millions of dollars from local waste management companies and a Pasadena paper factory responsible for storage of a human carcinogen that has leaked … Continue reading

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Houston-Austin rail study

From Houston Tomorrow: The Texas Department of Transportation presented results from a study on the potential for new 110 mph passenger rail service between Houston and Austin, potentially connecting College Station, according to Guidry News and documented in the minutes of the December … Continue reading

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The giant prawn menace

Yet another thing to add to your list of Things You Didn’t Realize You Needed To Worry About: Giant prawns in the Gulf of Mexico. The Asian tiger prawn, a foot-long crustacean with a voracious appetite and a proclivity for … Continue reading

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 26

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone is enjoying their holiday as it brings you the last roundup of 2011.

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A field guide to the school finance lawsuits

The Trib has a handy overview of the school finance lawsuits – who the plaintiffs are, who their lawyers are, and on what grounds they are suing. Among other things, it shows that I was correct in saying that there … Continue reading

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Seeking more water for Houston

I don’t know how I feel about this. After decades of fits and starts, Houston is pushing forward with plans to move Trinity water nearly 30 miles to Lake Houston. The reservoir, located on the smaller San Jacinto River, fills … Continue reading

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More on Bike Share Houston

Here’s the Chron story on the Council vote to get bike sharing in Houston off the ground. The plan for the so-called Bike Share Houston program is to intrigue residents and visitors with the technology, then raise funds to install … Continue reading

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MLB labor deal calls for more use of replay

This overview of what’s in the proposed collective bargaining agreement for Major League Baseball has the following interesting tidbit: MLB wants to expand replay to include fair-or-foul calls, “whether a fly ball or line drive was trapped” and fan interference … Continue reading

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At last, school finance lawsuit number 4

The fourth and presumably final school finance lawsuit was filed just before the holiday weekend. The state’s largest school districts, including Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks, have filed a lawsuit claiming the public education system is inadequate and inequitable, the fourth such … Continue reading

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Recycle your Christmas tree

And now, a message from the City of Houston Solid Waste Department:   The City of Houston (COH) Solid Waste Management Department will embark on its 21st year of Christmas tree recycling(.pdf) after the holiday by providing recycling drop-off sites throughout Houston. … Continue reading

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Ballot failure

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Newt Gingrich will not appear on the Virginia presidential primary ballot, state Republican Party officials announced Saturday, after he failed to submit the required number of valid signatures to qualify. The announcement was … Continue reading

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Half a billion trees

Damn. The current Texas drought has killed as many as 500 million trees 10 percent of the state’s forest cover and the end is not in sight, according to the Texas Forest Service. Some of the hardest-hit areas are in … Continue reading

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D.C. panel issues decision defining preclearance standards

From Michael Li: Late Thursday evening, the D.C. panel issued its long-awaited opinion defining the standards for preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and further explaining why the court had earlier rejected the State of Texas’ request … Continue reading

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DOJ refuses to preclear South Carolina voter ID law

Good. The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday rejected as discriminatory a South Carolina law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The action by the department’s civil rights division, coupled with Attorney General Eric Holder’s call 10 … Continue reading

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Coinis interruptis

No more Presidential dollar coins will be minted for general circulation. Have you ever seen a $1 presidential coin? Neither have we. Except that one time when we received seven of them in change from a MetroCard machine in the … Continue reading

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Weekend link dump for December 25

Just a few more hours till the after-Christmas sales start. Assuming there are any more Chistmases after this one. The case against Santa Claus. Trying to exert control over the presents your kids get is ultimately doomed to fail. How … Continue reading

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It isn’t Christmas without Mel Torme

Every year on Christmas Day, I link to my favorite Christmas story, which stars Mel Torme. Apparently, this story is so popular now that it gets ripped off a lot, which sure seems to be contrary to the Christmas spirit … Continue reading

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Saturday video break: And all through the house

I’ve shown this video before on Christmas Eve, and since that happens to be Saturday this year, it all comes together beautifully: Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

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Brewers win one in court

From CultureMap: A small but significant victory was had for craft beermakers and drinkers Monday when a federal judge ruled (partially) in favor of Austin’s Jester King Brewery in a lawsuit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Jester King filed … Continue reading

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Friday video break: And to you your wassail too

I’m going to take a short break from the Random Tens to bring you a few Christmas songs I wish got more exposure. First up, the King’s Singers take us all wassailing: Here’s the Irish Rovers, with “Good King Wenceslas”: … Continue reading

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Council approves B-Cycle, and other bike news

One other item that Council approved on its last day of business for the year was to clear the way for the city to start up bike sharing with B-cycle. As you know, I’ve been following this along, and am … Continue reading

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TCEQ denies Valero tax break

Good. Texas environmental regulators have rejected Valero Energy Corp.’s request for a tax break that cities, counties and school districts feared would lead to devastating cuts to their budgets. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality denied the request because the … Continue reading

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More on privatizing the Harris County jail

Grits: On Sunday, Grits broke the news that Corrections Corporation of America had submitted a bid to manage the Harris County Jail, citing information given to investors about a county-issued RFP which hadn’t been reported in the local media. Last night, the … Continue reading

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SCOTUS redistricting briefs

Opening briefs for the SCOTUS hearing on Texas redistricting were filed yesterday – you can see them here. The State of Texas is going long – Michael Li explains. The State of Texas asks the Supreme Court to let the … Continue reading

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Council passes high rise ordinance

And with that, Council is done for the year. After four years of planning and discussion, the Houston City Council on Wednesday approved new restrictions on residential high rises. The restrictions, which passed after a failed proposal to delay a … Continue reading

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